and the Winner of the Nike/iPod Contest is.....

Sacha McCollum

Congratulations Sacha, thanks again for taking part!



Top Workout Songs

A big thank-you to everyone who took the time to send me your top ten workout tunes.  I have consolidated the list by song title / artist for those looking for iTunes suggestions.  A very nice mix for hours of sweaty goodness......



Staying Injury Free with Foam Rollers

Injury prevention in any sport is extremely important.  I've touched on this already but given the repetitive nature of running it's something that you need to be very aware of.  There are a lot of great ways to keep yourself strong and flexible enough to run injury free year round, and the following article outlines a great tool and method to help keep the pain away.  A special thanks to Michael Hutton for brining this forward!

The Globe and Mail - Winter Running

With a tease of warmer weather on Friday we were back to frigid temperatures again by Saturday.  I was hoping to avoid more weather banter but since winter appears to be stubborn this year I thought I'd share a great article from the Globe.  A few really good pointers listed as well as some great related links:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/running/how-to-run-outside-in-winter/article1913569/

P.S.  Thanks to Maxine for posting this on facebook, I would have missed it otherwise :)

5 Day Forecast

No, I am not going to be polluting this blog with daily weather reports, but given the recent cold snap I thought I would point out that Toronto is due for some absolutely "balmy" weather this weekend.  Time to dust of the old runners or take the new ones out for a test run.....



P.S.  It's looking pretty good for you East-Coasters too.  Sorry Ottawa, no plus temperatures until Monday.

February Draw-Prize!!

As I have grown tired of my iPod's playlist I need your help with some suggestions to get me through February training.  So this month we'll be giving away a new 8GB iPod Nano along with the Nike training interface. 

To be eligible for the draw I'm going to need your top 10 workout tunes, gym-jams, training beats, or whatever you want to call them.  It's not going to get any easier than this so get them in quick.

P.S.  Don't be shy, I'll be posting all of the lists (anonymously) at the end of the month:

email: adam.fitzsimmons@phonak.com

Half Marathon Training Plan

The following entry outlines two "suggested" half marathon training programs.  The first is for new runners who have been doing some walking and conditioning.  The second is for more experienced runners who are interested in setting a time goal.  Both programs are based on 16 weeks of training so it is very early to start following either; that said, once the warmer weather shows up it won't hurt to have your head around a routine.